The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1887-08-13
PLUMAGE FOR HATS.
Iusectivorous Birds Are Not Used for That
Purpose-Compliance with the Law.

InsectivOrous Birds Are Not Used for That
Purpose-Compliance with the Law.
New York Commercial Advertiser
From time to time great ado is made by the
friends of the feathered kingdom because WON
en- will insist on decorating their hats and bon
nets with the plumes and heads of unfortunate
nounced ridiculous and in bad taste but the
words of the critics had no effect until they
: showed the farmers the danger which nenaced
them in the destruction of insectivorous birds.
This agitation resulted in the passage of law
forbidding the killing of this class of birds, and
in some States the penalty made so severe
that woman would be liable to arrest if caught
on the street wearing one of the protected birds
Even now, however. it is frequently asserted
that the law is not enforced it should be. and
spasmodc efforts are made to stop the traffic in
this line of goods. Investigation shows that the
law is not violated so much commonly sup
posed
Before a bird appears as the decoration of a
bonnet it passes through good many hands.
Soon after the hunter bags it. it is turned
to the commission raw stock" man, he is
termed, and then goes to some big manufactur-
ing house whore it is made up for the trade.
Then the jobber takes charge of it. and after
perhaps one or two more transfers the real
r,illiner gets it. and places it upon a bit of
feminine headgear to charm the eyes OF the
masculine world.
There are in this city several commission or
stock houses. which buy from hunters all
over the country. One Of these houses is
located Cortlandt street A reporter went
through the entire establishment without dis
covering insectivorous bird. The staple
birds in the trade are the tern and heron. al
though a good many gulls are used. The feath-
of these birds all of quiet colors, but
that does not make the slightest difference. as
the manufacturers turn out any color desired.
All they want is that the feathers shall be kept
strong and well shaped and then they can turn
out a more gaudily colored bird than nature
produced in her most eccentric mood. In the
great manufacturing establishments not single
feather is wasted, even the small feathers on the
body being used in paste work. Such patch
work is not naturally noteworthy for strict ad-
herence to nature, but it sells just well
theless.
The commission whose place was visited
told the reporter that probably not one-tenth of
the birds used by milliners in this country now
are insectivorous, and most of the few that
used come from Africa or South America, where
the supply is inexhaustible. The tern and heron,
which are chiefly used, are fish eaters, and their
loss will never be felt. The prices of these birds
vary from time to time. At present a tern skin,
preserved by arsenic just it comes from
the hunters, is worth from forty to fifty cents in
the city. The aigret plume of the snowy
heron, is worth SIS or $50 an ounce, but only
last February it brought S62 1t takes
dozen more birds to supply ounce of
these plumes but, of course the common
feathers also used.